Jonathan Fenner

Media and fear to communicate in health Jonathan Fenner

Based on an observation of health communication, this study addresses the issue of the massive use of fear and other emotions in health communication campaigns. The media, which serve as a springboard for this emotion, are also at the heart of the subject. The objective here is to establish the "perfect recipe" for health communication. To do this, the various media and emotions are compared with each other to determine the most relevant uses. The following "ingredients" were found: choice of media according to need, specificities in communication when addressing 20-35 year olds and differences in perception between general interest messages and commercial advertisements. It also emerges that health communicators would be well advised to favour the internet while nuancing the exploitation of fear. In particular, it is possible to increase the effectiveness of a communication campaign by adding an interactive dimension to the message by associating the target with it.